Fresh Ideas for Building Social Skills

When I surveyed faculty at the beginning of the year, I received an overwhelming response surrounding the need for social skills development amongst their elementary students. Needless to say, in working towards implementing a data-driven school counseling program, I have several groups up and running!

There is a plethora of existing curricula and lessons for building social skills; however, I feel that a lot of it is outdated. In an effort to meet the current needs and interests of our students, I have attempted to develop our group sessions from some more modern ideas. :)

1. Pete the Cat
     Who doesn't LOVE Pete the Cat? I, for one, use his books all the time! Pete's "everything is cool" attitude is a great way to begin teaching students about flexible thinking...how to cope when things don't go their way! In fact, there is a fantastic TPT resource that served as my starting point for this concept! Be sure to share with students that YOU, too, have to cope when something doesn't go your way.

The beginnings of my Pete the Cat Bulletin Board for our Social Skills Groups.

2. Hedbanz

      I have had this game for about two years and for awhile only enjoyed it with my friends and family. It wasn't until recently that I thought to use it with students. Available in a few versions such as Kids, Act Up, Disney, etc., this game is great for helping students build conversational skills, stay on topic, and remember information that has been shared.

      Students put on the black headband, and then a card (which they have not viewed) is placed in the designated slot. They must then ask each other "yes or no" questions in order to determine who or what is on their card. When I play this with younger students, I write some key words and question starters (Am I, Can I, Do I, etc.) on the board for them to refer to. Incorporating skills learned in previous sessions, I also have students look at another group member, say their name, and then ask the question. Additional parameters could be set for even more skill building. 

3. Mustaches

    With the current mustache craze, I thought a fun group session might be centered around the theme of "I mustache (must ask) you a question". Not only do students love choosing their personal mustache and giggling at how silly each other look, but it is also a great way to process things including: appropriate times to ask questions, appropriate questions to ask different types of people, question starters (Can I, Could you), etc. Other skills, such as eye-contact and responding appropriately, can be re-addressed during this activity as well.  

4. Hula Hoops

    This activity addresses the concept of personal space, and therefore requires a bit more space than the table you might use for group sessions. Each student is provided with a hula hoop to hold around themselves. This is used as a visual for processing how much space should be allotted between family, friends, strangers, etc.

    Time should also be spent talking about exceptions to this rule, and why these personal space rules are necessary! At the end of this session, you can quiz students by assigning them a role (parent, friend, teacher, etc.) and having them physically demonstrate the amount of personal space that is required. 

5. Wrap-Up

    As your group is wrapping up, be sure to do something that allows you to collect some data on whether or not your group was effective in helping students to build their social skills. Speak with teachers, parents, and administer some type of post-survey for students. My post-survey typically consists of a Jeopardy game of some sort. I also deduct points from any team who gets too competitive and does not use the skills we have worked on. ;)

I am always looking for new resources to make group sessions exciting. Currently, many of my groups take place during recess as to not remove students from core academic time. Therefore, I need to ensure that group members will work hard but have fun, too!!